The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday told the court that former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh directly controlled 13 companies to launder money, while his close associate and family members were in control of 14 other firms. The agency, which had arrested Deshmukh in a multi-crore money laundering case late Monday night, secured his custody until Saturday.

The 14 companies have been utilised for the purpose of infusion of ill-gotten money of Deshmukh, the ED told the court on Tuesday, as it sought the former minister’s custody. The agency said he was directly involved in laundering about Rs 4.7 crore collected from bar and orchestra owners. It also told the court that the involvement of “foreign angle can't be ruled out at this stage”.